Parker, Craig each fall in five-game volleyball matches

JANESVILLE--A young Janesville Parker volleyball team continues to go through some growing pains.

That certainly isn’t stopping the Vikings from showing heart.

Twice on Thursday night they rallied from down a game to Madison West, but the Regents used an aggressive fifth game to earn a dramatic Big Eight victory in Parker’s gymnasium.

“We’re growing; we’re so growing,” Parker coach Kathy Bullis said. “We have a lot of sad faces, but it’s how you respond to it. And I said, ‘Next time, when we get into that situation where we’re going to go five, we know how it feels, and we don’t want to be on that end.’”

Madison West cruised to the first-game victory, 25-17, but needed a 7-0 rally in the second to take a 20-19 lead.

From there, Parker junior middle blocker Kathryn Dubanowich—who led the Vikings with 10 kills—used a pair of nifty shots to give her team the momentum and the second set, 25-21.

The third game was a back-and-forth affair throughout until West prevailed, 28-26.

In the fourth, the Vikings used another impressive run to pull away. Danielle Kettle served seven consecutive points, including two of her match-high five aces, as Parker went from a 17-17 tie to a 24-17 lead.

“They’re definitely making progress,” Bullis said. “Earlier in the year, we might have just folded. I think it was real pivotal when we were up at East and they responded. They knew, ‘Hey, we believe in ourselves. We can do this.’”

Dubanowich also added two more kills during that stretch and the Vikings held on to win 25-21 and force the fifth game.

The two teams opened the final game battling to a 4-4 tie before West junior outside hitter Amber Reed found a groove. The Regents had used a steady dose of Elizabeth Brown, their captain who led all players with 18 kills, but the fifth game belonged to Reed.

She had four kills in the Regents’ final 11 points to help West pull away.

“(Reed) did a great job,” Bullis said. “She was getting up and working around our block.”

Parker junior Kyslee Greve led all players with 25 digs, and the Vikings hung tough despite setter Claire Fox having to play through illness. She still led the way with 27 assists.